1. Field
Embodiments relate to a robot and a method of controlling the same, and more particularly to a robot, which compensates for the angle of a bent joint using a redundant degree of freedom of the robot, and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, machines, which conduct motions similar to those of a human being using an electrical or mechanical action, refer to robots. The origin of the word “robot” is derived from the Slavic “ROBOTA”. Most initial robots, which were conventionally spread, were industrial robots, such as manipulators or transfer robots for automation and unmanned operation of production in a plant.
Recently, walking robots, which imitate the body mechanism and motion of an animal walking erect with two feet, such as a human being or a monkey, have been researched and developed, and the expectation of the practical use of the walking robots has increased. The biped walking has disadvantages, such as instability and difficulty in pose control or walking control, compared with the crawler-type, quadruped or hexapod walking, but is excellent in achieving a flexible motion, i.e., more flexibly coping with an uneven walking surface, such as an uneven surface of the ground or a surface having unevenness on a working route, or a discontinuous walking surface, such as a stairway or a ladder.
Particularly, a robot, which models on the biological mechanism and action of a human being, is referred to as a “humanoid robot”. The humanoid robot performs living supports, for example supports to human activities in residential conditions and other various living conditions.
The meaning of the research and development of the humanoid robot is grasped from two viewpoints, as follows.
First, from the viewpoint of human science, through a process of simulating a human walking motion using a robot having a similar structure to human legs and/or arms and a method of controlling the same, the mechanism of natural motions of a human being including a walking motion can be technically explained. The result of this research contributes greatly to the progress in various fields dealing with the human mechanism, such as ergonomics, rehabilitation, and sports science.
Second, the development of robots serving as a human partner, i.e., robots supporting human activities in residential conditions and other various living conditions, is required. Robots of this kind need to be functionally grown by learning a method of adaptation to persons having different individualities or different conditions from a human being in various situations of a human living environment. Here, a robot having the same shape or structure as that of a human being fulfils its effective function in respect of a smooth conversation between the robot and the human being.